What is it like being a woman working in palm oil?

In an industry dominated by men, what can a palm oil company do to ensure gender equality?

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A mother of two, a wife, and a professional: Yunita Widiasuti wears many hats on a daily basis.

As a woman that works for agribusiness Cargill in Indonesia, she is also concerned about women’s rights and gender equality in the workplace, and in a male-dominated industry such as palm oil, being able to work without fear of discrimination or harassment is ever more critical.

“This is not only for job activities, but also related to parenting; protecting women’s rights in the workplace, ensuring maternity leave, breastfeeding rights, and to be able to work free of discrimination or sexual harassment. Also so that women can raise their children with healthcare support and proper education,” said Yunita.

She is one of 6,066 women and 13,382 men working for Cargill Tropical Palm in the Southeast Asian country, where both women and men compete on the same footing for career development opportunities and women form their own committees to look after women’s interests at work.

“I really hope that female employees at Cargill can take ownership of their own development to pursue career opportunities, so we can see more women moving into leadership roles in the future,” she said.

Watch the video to understand what it’s like being a woman working in palm oil, and how one company is working towards gender equality.